I was contacted last week by a TV/Internet shopping network company who is interested in putting our product on television, the Internet and in at least one national magazine. The 1/2 hour TV show would have a 2 to 4 minute spot showing our product in a real life setting. Prior to screening, a 30-second direct response ad is run in target markets to get a feel for sales potential.

The 1/2 hour show runs about 20 times and our company would get a tape of our segment with full rights to use it as we wish. The upfront cost is more than I can afford but we may be able to apply the fee out of sale profits. This is a tremendous opportunity for us and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The potential is for 50 million households to see our product.

Uh oh. We have had a particularly trying first half of the year due to personnel and vendor problems. Being undercapitalized and living on the edge of a cash flow disaster means every perturbation feels like a catastrophe. Having our sales go through the roof can have the same effect. However, the opportunity may make it easier to raise investment capital. We haven't landed the deal yet so I'm not counting any chickens.

I have begun studying Direct Public Offerings of company stock. It's an interesting subject and the advent of the World Wide Web gives small companies the chance to offer stock through a medium that can save a lot of money. Many small companies have done this successfully with many more to come.

I purchased the book "Direct Public Offerings" by Drew Field. I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. It seems to be an ideal way for micro companies to raise capital without incurring burdensome debt. The down side of course is the government regulations one must deal with just to get started and the taking on of a bunch of new owners. It is a big, complex task but one whose benefits could be enormous.

Taxes and insurance seem to eat up any profit that a small company could use for growth. It seems damn near impossible to accumulate enough capital for expansion just through sales. Too many day to day expenses make the money disappear.

If any reader has accomplished a successful DPO, I would be interested in hearing about your experience.